India (Frommer's, 4th Edition) (85 page)

15A, Koregoan Rd., Pune 411 001.
020/4000-8000.
Fax 020/4000-8099. w
www.stlaurnhotels.com
. 63 units. Rs 12,000 executive double; Rs 13,000 superior double; Rs 14,000 deluxe double; Rs 1,000 extra bed. Rates include breakfast, airport transfers, and daily suit pressing. AE, DC, MC, V.
Amenities:
2 restaurant; lounge, bar; free airport transfers; tiny health club; rooftop pool; room service. In room: A/C, TV/DVD, hair dryer, minibar, Wi-Fi (free)

Taj Blue Diamond
At press time, Pune’s oldest five-star hotel was getting a well-deserved face-lift, especially in its public areas. Don’t despair at the grotty exterior, built before this was a Taj property—once you step inside, it’s a calm, elegant environment with genteel service and up-to-date accommodations geared towards high-powered business travelers (who comprise around 99% of the guests). Rooms have a more classic look than those at either St. Laurn or The O, with cream-colored walls, plenty of gleaming marble, and great big glassed-in showers (only the suites have tubs)—no tricksy color schemes or crazy lighting, but rather good views over Koregaon Park, especially from the upper floors. The North Indian specialty restaurant is one of the few upmarket places where you can try traditional Maharashtrian recipes.

11 Koregaon Rd., Pune 411 001.
022/6602-5555.
Fax 022/6602-7755.
www.tajhotels.com
. [email protected]. 111 units. Rs 16,500 deluxe double; Rs 19,000 deluxe premium double; Rs 25,000 deluxe suite; Rs 30,000 presidential suite; Rs 500 extra bed. Rates (except deluxe rooms) include breakfast and one-way airport transfer. AE, DC, MC, V.
Amenities:
3 restaurants, including Mystic Masala (see “Where to Dine,” below), bar; airport transfers (Rs 560; one way free except for deluxe rooms); health club and massage facility; pool; room service. In room: A/C, TV/DVD w/media hub, hair dryer, minibar, steam-shower (in suites), Wi-Fi (Rs 224/hr.; Rs 673/day).

Moderate/Inexpensive

Hotel Sunderban
You’ll need to book well ahead if you intend staying at this old-fashioned budget hotel right next door to the Osho resort. The air-conditioned rooms, especially, fill up fast, and the midyear discounted rates (with more than 50% off some rooms) make this a popular choice with devotees checking in for prolonged periods. In its favor, the hotel retains much of that mellow charm that comes with age—there’s a large lawn (onto which the rooms and verandas face) and decor is an unusual mix of Art Deco, Pop Art, and functional Modernism. To really confuse matters, the most expensive, refurbished “studio” rooms in the newer wing are trying pretty hard to look contemporary (proper mattresses, marble floors, bright orange walls, and plasma TV). While feeling a bit run-down, there’s real vintage atmosphere here, and totally bearable if you can put up with stuck-in-a-groove staff, flaking paint, flayed fabric, and occasionally, strange odors, too.

19, Koregaon Park, next to Osho International Meditation Resort, Pune 411 001.
020/2612-4949
or 020/2612-8388.
www.tghotels.com
. Rs 700–Rs 800 economy double; Rs 1,000 standard double; Rs 2,000 A/C executive double; Rs 3,000 deluxe double; Rs 3,500 A/C deluxe double; Rs 4,000 A/C super deluxe double; Rs 4,000 Osho suite; Rs 7,500 A/C studio; Rs 500–Rs 1,000 extra person. Rates include breakfast; 10% tax extra. Off-season discounts apply Apr–Sept. MC, V.
Amenities:
Lounge; airport transfers (Rs 350); room service. In room: A/C (some), TV, fridge, Wi-Fi (free).

The Osho Guesthouse
This must be the Rolls Royce of Zen-styled lodgings—simple, elegant, and free of distractions (like phones and TVs) likely to interfere with your reason for being here. Beyond a 24-hour reception, a small lobby lounge, and laundry service, most activities (besides sleeping and showering) happen in various other parts of the campus (although lunch is taken in the efficient canteen-style cafe right next door to the guesthouse. Staying here makes it that much easier to participate in life at the resort, particularly when it comes to attending the strenuous 6am Dynamic Meditation session (a core ingredient of your Osho experience), without wasting time rushing back and forth to your hotel. Bedrooms are compact, with a functional modern design, and a sense of impeccable order prevails from the moment you’re greeted at the front desk.

17 Koregaon Park, Pune 411 001.
020/6601-9900.
Fax 020/6601-9910.
www.osho.com
. [email protected]. 60 units (all with shower only). Dec–Feb Rs 5,000 double; Mar–Nov Rs 3,500 double. Rates exclude 10% tax. MC, V.
Amenities:
The guesthouse is part of the Osho International Meditation Resort, incorporating 2 cafes, evening snack and beverage bar, a variety of meditation spaces; health club; Internet (in dedicated cybercafe; Rs 1/min.); medical center; large outdoor pool; tennis court; travel agency. In room: A/C, no phone.

The Samrat Hotel
It’s a characterless business hotel in an unfetching location (opposite the railway station) and accommodations are very ordinary-looking. Rooms feel like converted offices, with marble floors, low beds, and that dreary modular look that afflicts so many midrange places. But here, the room quality is more than made up for by the pleasant disposition of the staff and the exceptionally good rates. Everything is spotless and the restaurant is a real haunt for the local office crowd. Besides, it’s only 11⁄2km (1 mile) from the Osho resort, and that’s where you’re likely to spend most of your time anyway.